Marlboro's Bianco V845 softball player of year

She can throw the perfect pitch for a strike, rip the cover off the ball in the gap for a hit and, sometimes, that isn't good enough for Marlboro's Aubrey Bianco.

JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ

She can throw the perfect pitch for a strike, rip the cover off the ball in the gap for a hit and, sometimes, that isn't good enough for Marlboro's Aubrey Bianco.

Yes, Bianco's a perfectionist: A passionate, hard-working, fearless perfectionist — and that's what makes her so good. She wants the ball in the big spot.

Bianco, Marlboro's cleanup hitter, wants the big at-bat. That's great and all, but the key is that Bianco — the Varsity845 Player of the Year — usually always produces.

"Not only does Aubrey want the ball," Marlboro coach Jen Veronesi said. "You want her to have the ball. Aubrey likes pressure and she produces under pressure. She never takes a second off and set the tone for our team."

In her first year as Marlboro's ace, replacing last year's Varsity845 Player of the Year, Emily McDonough, Bianco established herself as a star. She seemingly developed as the year progressed, getting better and better.

However, she went into overdrive in the postseason. Bianco hit .466 (7-for-15) — 82 points above her average for the year — in four state playoff games with nine RBI.

Her defining moment came in the Class B state semifinals against defending champion Chatham, which had a 42-game winning streak, and ace Kayla Doty — bound for UConn. Bianco pitched a three-hitter to lead Marlboro to a 3-0 win in nine innings.

Perhaps, the signature moment of Marlboro's season was when Bianco hit a rocket two-run homer off Doty on a first-pitch fastball over the left-field fence in Queensbury to put Marlboro up 3-0.

"That was a great feeling," Bianco said. "As a team, we just never got down. For me, I don't know, I'm just never satisfied. There is always room to improve. I mean, I'm happy about this season, but I wanted to win it all. Maybe next year."

Bianco credits her two older brothers Lucas, 23, and Drew, 20, for helping her develop her must-win mentality.

They grew up playing sports with her. Aubrey, the little sister, was never given any breaks.

And she didn't want any.

"If Aubrey really puts her mind to something, she can get anything done," said Bianco's mom, Laura. "She gets intense when she really wants something and I think that will help her do a lot of special things in her life."

jrodriguez@th-record.com

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